


Fall But to Love

by TVBS



Series: Flesh and Bones [8]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Succubi & Incubi, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-11 13:59:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5629057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVBS/pseuds/TVBS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael may have really screwed things up. A lot.</p><p>And he might need to have to repair it.</p><p>And he might need to be careful at work now.</p><p>Because his life might now be in danger. And not just from the thing in the pantry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So much love to all of you for all the support I've gotten for this entire series so far! Here is the first chapter to the latest entry. Again, everyone gets my love since you are all awesome!

When one has slept with two of the five coworkers one usually works with one a regular basis, and knows a third loves him, one would think it's very awkward to be at work.

Strangely enough, it wasn't that bad today. That didn't mean it wouldn't be bad later, but right now… Michael ended his recording, taking a deep breath. It was a good day so far. They had recorded some GTA, and Michael and Gavin had done a hilarious Play Pals. Nothing live action, though. Michael rubbed his eyes, reaching for his sunglasses again. While he needed them off to actually record something, it was just easier to deal with people while they were on. They didn't seem to be as scared of him as long as he kept his demonically glowing eyes covered.

His eyes. The only part of his demon heritage he couldn't hide. Michael's eyes slid over to Gavin. He was the only one, other than himself, that knew about that. Everyone else was sticking to the idea that he was some kind of shapeshifter. And… fuck, he just couldn't tell them about it. It was one of those things that yeah, demons weren't exactly good things to have around. Not to mention one of them had been eating their staff once upon a time, and something of his family line was hunting the office now. And there was more of the rat things and fuck. Yeah. Demons were bad. But he couldn't just hide this. He had hidden the fact he wasn't human before, and the way it came out was not good. Lindsay still didn't quite trust him anymore.

Really, did anyone? After he came back, demonically feral, did anyone trust that he was going to remain human? It was a miracle that Burnie hadn't fired him yet for being a threat. Or maybe he was working on that and he hadn't gotten through all the paperwork yet. Who knows.

"Hey." Michael turned his head, looking over at Ray. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah." It was kind of nice that Ray loved him, but at the same time, kind of fucked up. He didn't know where it would go from here, considering Tina. Ray still loved Tina too, and he wasn't really sure what Tina thought of all of this. She had been really quiet while Ray was helping him hide his fangs and claws… "What, do I smell like I'm about to lose it?" he followed up, laughing a little.

Gavin glanced over at them as Ray grinned. "Nah. Just wanting to make sure you're doing okay." He turned back to his computer, frowning at it. "Though, you do look pretty stressed out," he threw out there, head turning slightly towards him.

Michael rubbed his neck. "Mm. Yeah. It's nothing. I'm fine." Just thinking about things he couldn't tell Ray at all.

"Well, you need anything or any tips on handling being a shapeshifter, let me know."

Oh, that. Yeah, he really needed to tell Ray at some point. Just… yeah, it was nice that Gavin believed him right away. And he had the idea that Ray would too since he seemed to believe him no matter what. But demon was a stretch to say the least, and there was also the fact that demons just didn't exist for the most part on this plane of existence. How it got introduced in his family line, he had no idea. Though, considering how they could possess people, that might have something to do with it. Or there might be something in the fact that Gavin called Ryan a sex demon, and the fact that incubi and succubi seemed to be part of this dimension. Fuck, he had no idea if Ryan could even be considered a demon too and if that had any bearing on what he was.

"Yeah. I'll let you know."

He could feel Gavin staring at them, but he ignored it. He didn't need that right now. Everything would be fine for the moment, and he would deal with it later.

* * *

"Are you feeling okay?"

He knew Gavin would eventually corner him, and he was okay with this. No one else was around, so they could have a frank conversation, sunglasses off. No hiding for him. "Yeah. I'm a little… yeah. About the demon thing. I just kind of don't think anyone else is ready to hear it."

"We're all here to support you," Gavin reminded him. "And… we'll all try to keep you as human as possible."

Michael rubbed his arms, looking away. A lot of his demon parts were triggered by his anger. When he lost control, he shifted back to that twisted, almost catlike form. Ray seemed to help, a little bit. And Ryan… what exactly was it that Ryan fucking do? Yeah, he gave him a fucking handjob in front of everyone, but something about what he did grabbed the human part of him and dragged it back up. Gavin…

Gavin was still dealing with the idea of Michael with anyone other than himself and it showed. He wasn't quite… comfortable with Michael yet.

"I still love you," Michael told him quietly. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah. I know." Gavin tried to smile at him. The twitch of lips didn't quite form the right way. "Michael. What happened before… I still want the best for you. But Ryan…"

"What Ryan did doesn't matter," Michael told him vehemently. "It doesn't change the fact I still love you."

Gavin just shook his head, looking at him sadly. "I forget sometimes you were raised human," he told him. "I see the demon eyes, and I forget you can't… What Ryan did pulled you back from being completely demonic. I couldn't even do that. I still… want what's best for you, and I still love you too. But I know what happened, and I know I've completely lost you."

Michael felt a chill run up his spine at the words. "Lost me? Gavin, I'm a person. I can make my own choices here."

"And I think you already have." Gavin took a deep breath, plastering on a smile that looked so fake, it made Michael's face hurt. "We're going to record AHWU in a bit, I think. We'll send someone for you once we're done shooting."

As Gavin left, Michael took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper. Not a good thing to do, to lose his human form. He didn't understand. Michael had chosen _him_ long ago. Chosen him as one of _his._ It didn't matter what Ryan had done. Hell, whatever he had done… it was just something that helped him out.

But- Michael took a deep breath as he felt his anger freeze suddenly. What Gavin had said- it almost sounded like it was some kind of nonhuman thing kind of like the part of him choosing Gavin. That a part of him had chosen Ryan. But, that didn't mean he had lost Michael. He still- no matter what, Gavin was still _his._ He would always want him, protect him, need him. Ryan could fuck off and he wouldn't care. If Gavin left…

He had fallen in love with Gavin, not Ryan. He had chosen _Gavin._

Michael rubbed his face, then put his sunglasses back on. Just in case someone else walked in on him. It was so hard to explain all of this. He really wished there was another demon he could talk to, someone he could talk about this whole bullshit and what it meant. What Ryan did, and what it meant for him. What Gavin meant. Just. Everything.

Michael shook his head, starting for the fridge. He needed a drink. Water. That'd be good.

Then he stopped, the hair on the back of his neck rising.

For a moment, he had the feeling someone was watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, something was definitely off today.

Michael wrinkled his nose, trying to figure out what he was smelling. It almost smelled like something was _burning._ But not- no, that smell when a candle wick went out. That something was burning. What the hell was he smelling? And more importantly, why was he smelling it? With a sigh, he sat down heavily at his desk and glared at his screen. This was going to drive him nuts. And he couldn't see his screen with the sunglasses on, so now he had to take the fuckers off, he thought as he threw them down on the desk.

"Hey," Lindsay stuck her head in, tapping a finger against the corner. "How are you?"

He shrugged, awkward. "Okay. How… you doing okay?"

She echoed his shrug. The motion drew his eye to her arms, to the light scars where he had dug his claws into her flesh. Damn it. She was going to have those forever now. A memory of how a fucking demon went crazy and clawed her up. It was a miracle she was talking to him without being prompted by someone else. Lindsay came into the room, looking around. "So, everyone else busy?"

"Jack and Geoff are taking care of stuff," he told her. "I think Jack's got con stuff, and Geoff's taking care of some general administrative shit. Ryan's got the day off."

"What about the wolf and vampire?"

Michael found himself smiling at her question, stretching a bit. "Gav's talking to Burnie. I have no idea what Ray's up to. What's up?"

"Oh, just good that I can talk to you alone." With that, Lindsay plopped herself down on the couch. "We used to be pretty good friends, right? Kind of sucks that we're not talking like we used to. What've you been up to? Been doing anything interesting lately? Ah, no, don't put those back on," she told him as he turned to grab his sunglasses. "Just. Talk."

"Um. Well." This was weird. He would have guessed she hated him now, considering how he attacked her twice now. "Mostly been trying to get this nonhuman thing under control. Though I have been playing some Fallout lately. Pretty fun."

"Yeah? How's the base coming along?"

Michael grinned, leaning forward a bit. Awkward as it was, it was nice to talk to Lindsay again. A pointed observation about Nick had him laughing so hard he couldn't breathe for a few seconds, and it wasn't until Geoff walked back in that he realized how much time had passed. "Hey, Geoff. Time to do more recording?"

"Yup. Lindsay, Ryan's out today. You want in on this GTA one?"

She grinned. "I'm caught up on my editing. I'd love to."

"Sweet. You can set up at Ryan's desk."

"I'm used to that."

Michael snorted as Geoff continued on. "Michael, can you hunt down Gavin or Ray and let them know they better get their asses in gear and get back here?"

"You can always text them," he pointed out.

"Ray's not answering. So you might want to take a blanket with you in case he's wolfed out because of Rule Human Form = Human Clothes."

Michael rolled his eyes but snagged a blanket as he got up. He was pretty certain Ray wasn't in his wolf form because he would hear people screaming. Ray didn't shift forms unless in the Achievement Hunter office where he could curl up at Michael's feet or under duress. And since he wasn't at the Achievement Hunter office and no one was screaming…

And people were watching him as he walked through the building. That was… yeah. A little off-putting. It kind of always sucked that- wait. Michael blinked, then touched his face, letting out a sharp "fuck" when he realized he had left his sunglasses back in the office. It really was starting to get to the point the people he worked with were getting comfortable with this shit, but of course the other Rooster Teeth employees didn't see it all the time…

Fuck. He couldn't go back and get his sunglasses now. He'd just have to find the wayward Lads and take them back so they could record. Michael took a deep breath and gripped the blanket in his hands tighter. Everything would be okay. He just had to find Gavin and Ray. That was it.

"Yer so cute, yes you are!" Michael's ears perked up as he heard someone talking. Oh, someone must have brought one of their dogs again. That was nice. But he didn't recognize that voice. Who could that be?"What a cute little werewolf!"

What.

Michael turned towards the voice and saw a strange sight: A beautiful redheaded woman kneeling before a wolfy Ray, toying with his ears as he sat there, looking way too blissed out. Watching this, he just couldn't help himself.

He laughed.

Ray shook his head, glaring at him as the woman stood up in haste. "Oh." She brushed back a lock of her hair, looking a little embarrassed. "I just- oh." And yeah, now she stopped for good, wordless as she looked him full in the face.

Michael grit his teeth. A great way to make a first impression: Glowing yellow eyes. "I'm just here for the werewolf."

"Oh. I-" The woman stumbled over her words a bit, eyes blinking rapidly behind her glasses.

"Work, probably," Ray told her, shifting back to human. "Thanks, man," he told Michael as he took the blanket, wrapping it around himself as he leaned over and grabbed his discarded clothing. "It was nice meeting you, Meg."

Michael waved to her as they left, watching her bite her lower lip and look away from them. Yeah, that didn't hurt _at all_. "She seemed to know pretty fast you're a werewolf," he said instead, looking over at Ray.

He just grimaced a bit. "Yeah. Well. She's kind of Rooster Teeth's new big personality. You haven't heard? Meg's been shooting for a new show for about a week now. Figured it was probably better to let her know now before she found out later. What weirded me out was she was really cool about it."

"Maybe she's been around werewolves before," Michael commented.

"Maybe. Hey, speaking of not human things, I noticed you're not wearing your sunglasses."

That made Michael paused. The way that woman - Meg - had reacted… "Yeah. Kind of forgot them back at Achievement Hunter."

"Oh." Ray went quiet for a moment, then stopped. "Dude, be straight with me, or as straight as your bi ass can be. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit."

Michael took a deep breath, turning away slightly. He looked around a bit, not seeing any around to listen. "Fine. Okay? I feel like there's someone that's been watching me lately."

Ray blinked, shifting the blanket on his shoulders. "You kind of are a big name around here," he told him. "But I take it you mean something other than that."

"Yeah." Michael ran a hand through his curls, taking a deep breath. "Man, this sounds stupid, but it feels like it's something that doesn't like me. Like it wants to hurt me."

Instantly, Ray's demeanor changed. His eyes swept across the floor, looking for what could be threatening Micheal. "Do you feel it now?" he asked in a low voice, a growl on the edge of it.

"Dude, everything's okay." Michael stroked a hand down Ray's back. "Don't go all wolf over this. I can't even confirm anything right now. It's just a feeling, that's all. You're the first person I've told about this. It's probably me being paranoid over people watching me more closely after how I came back."

Ray didn't relax, but the next words out of his mouth did lose the growl. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

Finally, Ray's body lost its tension, and he grinned at Michael. "Well, even if there is someone wanting to hurt you, I'll kick their ass," he told him. Then he lifted the hand that held his clothes, grimacing. "I should probably go put these back on. Tell Geoff I'll be back there in a bit."

"Can do. Oh, hey, do you know where Gavin is?" Michael called as Ray walked away, making him stop and turn back towards him.

"No clue. Wasn't he talking to Burnie or some shit?"

Michael shrugged. "I guess. I'll go by Burnie's office."

"For what?" Gavin's voice behind him made him jump slightly. "Aw, did I startle you, little Michael? Oh, you don't have your glasses on!"

"Yeah, you startled me and yes, I don't have them on. And Geoff's been looking for you," Michael snapped out, embarrassed. "Once Ray gets dressed, we're going to record." Then, because he knew how that sounded, "We have a new girl working on a new show. He decided to show her he's a werewolf before she found out."

"Huh. I haven't seen her yet."

Michael shrugged. "You'd remember her if you did. Meg's really pretty."

"Meg?" Gavin looked alarmed at that, looking around. Then he shook his head, smiling. "Meg. Always thought that was a pretty name, ever since- Well, maybe I'll meet this Meg later. We have recording to do, right?"

"Yeah. Let's go record."


	3. Chapter 3

Didn't _he_ look particularly demonic today.

Michael took a long breath as he turned on the water, washing his hands. Saying he looked demonic just seemed… obvious. He _was_ a demon, after all. So it would stand to reason that he would look demonic. Just… Michael splashed some water on his face, grabbing a few paper towels to blot away the excess. He just looked like a fucking _demon._ Not like a human that had demon blood. Or maybe he was being too sensitive about it all right now, but…

Fuck. Fuck it all. Maybe he should throw the sunglasses in the trash and just be proud about it all. If anyone asks, yes, he was a fucking demon thank you for asking. But at the same time, what would they do? Enough humans together could probably take down a demon, and he wasn't full blooded. One little mob and he would probably end up in the fucking ground. He had already felt someone watching him, and it did not feel good.

At the same time… Michael picked up his sunglasses, staring at them. He could be free of this secrecy shit. Be able to talk freely without worrying which lie he had told. He wasn't going to be able to do live action with these eyes, and no one slipped up about anything not human while recording. Or if they did, it didn't get out because their editors were awesome.

But. Meg's face slipped into his memory, the new girl taken aback at his eyes. How she had been cooing over Ray when he met her, how she had been totally cool with him being a werewolf, but his eyes had made her pause. That's how things would be.

He was just so fucking _tired_ of it. Michael turned off the water and slipped the sunglasses back on, turning to leave the bathroom. Fine, he looked like a demon. Just get through today. He could worry about the rest of it later.

When he got back to the office, no one was in there. Great. Oh well. They would start recording when everyone got back. And he had nothing else to do in the meantime. Bored, Michael pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Twitter. A common thread he was starting to see were people noticing he wasn't doing live action anymore. And not buying he was recovering from an illness at that. They would need to do something about that. He couldn't record with his glasses on since he didn't actually have a cat's low light vision, but maybe he could do a minor fuckery in AHWU? Something where his eyes were still covered and they could spin it that his eyes were really sensitive from what happened and he still wasn't completely recovered. He'd bring it up with Geoff.

Augh. He wanted to be back to normal. This wasn't normal. This… was bullshit. Pure and utter bullshit that wrecked everything he had been. Michael got out of his chair and started to pace. He had been part of Achievement Hunter, a fan favorite, and just… having fun with everything. And now he had to worry about if him being a demon would get out to anyone in the office, or if him just not being human at all would get out to the fans, and then on top of that he had to worry about his anger and make sure it stayed at a certain point so he didn't start shifting into his demon form… Michael started slightly as he realized he was growling under his breath. Great, he was getting angry. Time to calm the fuck down.

Well, the first step would to be stop thinking about the thing that pissed him off.

Problem with that was it was _everything._ It permeated through all parts of his life, work and otherwise. Going to the fucking _store_ , fucking Hell. Just. He had to do that at night when no one was out and hope people thought he was high on something. Hell of a world where the idea of being a stoner was preferable to them knowing the demon status.

Michael grabbed a pillow and threw it across the room, breathing hard. That was such fucking _bullshit._ He shouldn't have to fucking do that. If anything, he should be able to turn his eyes back to normal. Why were those so fucking stubborn? Why?! He walked across the room and snatched up the pillow, lips curling into a vicious smile as his claws sliced into it. Well, at least this felt satisfying, he reasoned as he ripped the pillow in half, stuffing flying.

"So… did the pillow do something to you?" He turned at the sound of Ray's voice, seeing him standing there with a bottle of water in his hand. Michael watched as Ray went over to his desk to set the water down, then turn to him. "Hey, dude. You doing okay there?"

"Fine." Yeah, he growled that, but he didn't need Ray's fucking pity.

"You look fine," Ray told him sarcastically. Without waiting for Michael to respond, he came over and pulled him into a hug. "We don't need you going feral again," he murmured against his hair, thumbs stroking his side. "It's okay to take comfort in this kind of shit. I do."

Ray wasn't a demon, though. It felt good, to have someone touching him, but Ray wouldn't be doing this if he knew. Michael grabbed Ray, holding him tightly. He wouldn't be doing this if he knew Michael wasn't a shapeshifter. Which… Michael growled, nosing Ray's shoulder. No. Ray was one of his. _His._

"Michael. Whoa. What are you-" Ray cut off when Michael shoved him up against the wall, body pinning him there. "Michael?"

This was the demonic way of thinking coming out. Possessive. He knew it. He knew it wasn't good, and that he needed to let Ray go. But Michael ignored it as he pressed his lips to Ray's shoulder, feeling him tense up. Gently, he bit down, almost mindful of his fangs, fingers twitching as Ray inhaled sharply. Without thinking about it, he rolled his hips forward.

Ray groaned, his head falling back as his hips answered the motion. With that, Michael bit harder, his hands gripping him hard. _His._ He had to mark it all up, make him all… his. Those groans, moans, the way Ray stuttered his name brokenly while grabbing his ass… Ray was one of _his_.

"… Michael."

The new voice made Michael turn his head, his possessiveness flaring worse. Gavin stood there, gaping, shocked- And just close enough for Michael to grab him and yank him close. With werewolf blood on his lips, Michael kissed him, hands scrambling to hold him close. One hand went back to Ray, grabbing his hip as he nipped at Gavin's lips, dead blood splashing across his mouth-

Only for it all to be ripped away. He snarled as someone grabbed him from behind, bodily lifting him away from Ray and Gavin. A hand grabbed his neck, a firm threatening pressure. "Stop that," Ryan hissed against his ear. "What do you think you're doing?"

Michael growled. He was taking him away from what was his!

Ryan shook him slightly, fingers firm against his throat. "Stop it. You're part human. Act like it." He shook him again when Michael didn't respond to that. "Are you listening to me? Or do I have to drag that human part of you out again?"

Michael let out a shaky breath at that. The memory, the part of him that responded so much to Ryan, that human bit… He closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax. To stop it. He didn't need to go fully demon. This kind of shit happened, and then Ryan needed to pull him out of it. No, he had to keep a hold of himself. When Ryan finally let him go, he opened his eyes, looking over at Ray and Gavin.

No one would meet his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

So many reasons for him not to get angry right now. Most of them really had to do with how this whole fucking mess was his fault, but there was a definite streak of _Michael, this bullshit is your fault, so deal with it._

He looked over at Ray, noting how he was staring so intently at his screen and not at anyone else. "Hey."

Ray jumped slightly, head snapping over to look at Michael. "Hey whoa. You startled me for a moment. What's up?"

Bullshit. His fault. It had taken way too long for him to get the taste of Ray's blood out of his mouth, and longer for him to realize it hadn't exactly been a bad taste. Better than Gavin's vampire blood, anyway. And the only way the whole thing would have been better would have been if Gavin had sandwiched him, grinding into him as he slipped a hand- Bullshit. His fault. The words rang in his head as he looked away. "Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you're paying attention."

"Oh." Ray rubbed the back of his neck as Michael turned away from him. "Hey. Um. You doing okay?"

Pissed off at himself for what he did. "Fine," he lied, reaching for his headphones. "Just fine."

"Mm." With that grunt, Ray went back to his own computer, and Michael started kicking himself. He knew this entire thing was his fault. And it would probably be better if he actually talked about all of this with them, got it all taken care of. But… fuck, he didn't want to admit that something was definitely up about Ryan and him. He wasn't sure that yeah, Gavin was right, but there was definitely something about it. The memory of Ryan's fingers against his throat… Michael shuddered. Why did all the nonhumans go for the throat?

But now Gavin wouldn't even look at him. He just got up, turning his head away from Michael as he left. And fuck if that didn't hurt. And yeah, he fucking knew it was his fault. He should have paid attention to the fact he was going more demon. Less in control of his thoughts. And that he was starting to be possessive, and not just of Gavin. The fact that he did that to both of them, at the same time… fuck. He really screwed the pooch on this one.

He wasn't even going to look at Ryan. There was no need to make that worse by possibly looking over at him and seeing something that made him to something he knew would fuck things up more. He couldn't even chalk it up to Ryan being an incubus anymore. No, this was all Michael. All his fault.

Fucking hell.

And now Ray was sniffing the air, looking blatantly over at Michael. Fine, he could take a hint. Michael grit his teeth and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He could do this. It was all he needed to do was calm the fuck down. That was it. Stop thinking about how much of a fuck up he was and just. Calm down.

Yeah, the first thing he had to do was stop thinking about the fact he was a fuck up and that was hard to do around the men he was fucking up around.

So instead, Michael stood suddenly, ignoring how everyone turned to watch him warily as he shoved his sunglasses on his face and left. A walk should help. Get away from everything and put his thoughts in order.

Goddamn. He remembered when the worst thing he had to worry about was if Gavin was a vampire or not. He didn't know about the fucking portal to a demonic world in the pantry, he didn't know about the werewolf and incubus, he didn't know that he wasn't human… Why couldn't he go back to that blissful ignorance? That bit where all he worried about was if he was hallucinating that Gavin had blood on his breath? That would be really nice to do.

Everyone was ignoring him as he walked, which was actually good. They were doing work. Kerry waved at him absently as he ran by, probably crunched for time and about ready to run late to a RWBY meeting. But no one stared at him, no one talked to him. Good. He didn't need any awkward conversation right now. Just… nothing to remind himself about how much of a fuck up he was being.

He had to do something. What, he didn't know. Just… something to fix all of this. Something where they could figure out what to do.

He would need to tell Ray and Ryan that he was a demon.

Michael stopped by the stairs, sitting down heavily. That was the thing, wasn't it. He would need to come clean about not being a shapeshifter. It didn't matter if that meant that people would treat him differently because he was a demon and with all that entailed. He just needed to get that out, and see what could be done to get that under control. The thing was- he didn't know _how_ to tell them. How to have the least amount of panic and outrage over that little fact.

Maybe if he told Burnie first… but as usual, Burnie wasn't in Austin right now. Of course, right when he needed him. It was like in addition to being able to tell what kind of nonhuman someone was, he could tell when he was needed and decided to skip town.

Someone walked by, then stopped, turning to him. "Oh. You're… Michael, right?"

He barely recognized that voice. Michael looked up, sighing internally as he saw Meg. She looked a lot less anxious about talking to him this time, but this time he had his glasses on so it helped a lot that she couldn't see his eyes. "Hey. What's up?"

"Taking a break." Michael took a breath, standing up. He didn't want to deal with the new kid's unease around him. He knew what he looked like. "Probably should get back to work."

"Hey, don't cut it short on my account," she told him with a wry smile. "We didn't exactly meet on good terms, did we? I'm Meg Turney. I'm working on The Know and Gus, Ryan, and I are working on The Patch."

Well, she did seem to be a lot better around him now. "Michael Jones." He waved a little at her, not yet extending a hand. He had an idea she would not take it. "Achievement Hunter, Rage Quit."

"I've watched a few of your videos!" Wow, she had a beautiful laugh. Michael found himself leaning forward slightly, wanting to hear more before shaking his head. Wow. "You're pretty funny. And so are the guys you work with." Meg hesitated for a moment, then frowned. "I've managed to meet all but one of them, actually. And that includes you. He's always out doing something when I come by the office."

"You come by Achievement Hunter?" Michael blinked a few times, surprised. "Picking up Ryan for The Patch when he's late?" He's never seen it, but he would be the first to admit things had been pretty fucked up these last few weeks.

"Yeah, let's go with that."

Well, that wasn't suspicious in the least. Michael eyed her, opening his mouth when he was interrupted.

"Michael, my boi! Geoff wanted me to tell you to get back to the office. We're about to start rec-" Gavin cut off suddenly as he saw who it was that Michael was talking to, his eyes wide. "You're-"

Meg looked equally surprised, then she smiled. "You're Gavin, right? You're like the only person I haven't met yet! I'm-"

"Meg." Gavin's voice was quiet, amazed. "But you can't be. She-"

Michael looked between them, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "Um. Someone want to fill me in?"

Gavin shook his head. "I'm sorry. You look like an old girlfriend. I didn't mean to make this weird."

"Well, it's been a while since I've heard the old girlfriend line," Meg joked. "Kinda surprised she had my name."

He gave her a sad smile in return for that. "Yeah." Gavin looked over at Michael, his face starting to show the three hundred years of age. "I'll be back at the office. We'll start recording when you get back."

"I'll be there in a bit," he told him, turning to Meg as he left. Michael looked her over for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry about that. He's a bit-"

"He's not human, is he." Meg was staring after him, brow furrowed.

"Gavin being a vampire is the open secret around here. I'm surprised you haven't heard it yet."

"Vampire?!" Meg looked over at Michael, then laughed a little. "Vampire. Okay. Well, now I know. You should probably get back to the office. I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. See you, Meg."

As he left, he heard Meg muttering to herself. "Vampire. Everything makes much more sense."


	5. Chapter 5

He forgot his sunglasses.

Of all the things to sleepily forget, sunglasses was the last thing he needed to leave on the table. Michael groaned as sat back down in his chair, leaning back. The stares as he went to the bathroom. Oh, the stares. It was like they had never seen a demon before. He grunted as he sat up, leaning forward to grab the his controller, getting ready to connect to the GTA game. Well, they were used to not seeing his eyes, anyway. If he could just change his eyes back, that'd be great.

"You look good without the sunglasses." Gavin's unsure voice reached him, and Michael looked over to see the forced supportive smile. "You should stop wearing them all the time."

Geoff snorted at that, souring Michael's mood even further. "That's what we need, hellish cat eyes," Michael muttered, fiddling with the sticks as his XBox searched for a game to connect to.

"They're not hellish! They're cool." Gavin turned to look at him with wide eyes, looking innocent.

What a goddamn actor. Or maybe he really did think they were cool, even knowing what they meant. Michael looked over at Ray, who wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. For a moment, he kept his eyes on his screen as his XBox failed to connect, then he looked over at Michael, nervously. "What, man?" he asked, laughing a little as a light blush crossed his cheeks. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Just wondering if you managed to make it in," Michael told him lightly. "You're being fuck-all quiet."

Ray rubbed his eyes, glasses pushing up as he looked away. "Been a long night," he grunted. "Spent a good portion of it furry and on Tina's lap."

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael could see Geoff turn towards them in worry. "Something wrong?"

"Nah." Ray shrugged as his game connected. "Okay, I'm in."

Michael leaned in a little, stopping as Ray's posture turned rigid. "Ray… look, I know what happened before-"

"Dude, you have _no_ idea what happened before."

That made him stop, rearing back in confusion. "What?"

"You were fucking raised human. So you don't know what happened. You have no idea what's happening. And you're still fucking it up. Just…" Ray held up a hand. "I know what you're doing. I appreciate it, I really do. But I need to figure this out on my own. Just, yeah." He lowered his hand, staring at him for a moment. "Yeah," he finally repeated, turning back to his game.

Michael grit his teeth. He wanted to just _help_ , but he turned back to his own screen, mashing the button to make it try to reconnect. There wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't- fuck. God fucking damn it! And he was the one fucking it up. He just wanted someone to explain this shit to him. Yeah, he was raised human, but that meant he needed this explained, not swept under the table like that. He looked up just as his game connected. "I'm in."

"So am I," Gavin added.

"Jack, Ryan?" At their nods, Geoff said, "That makes everyone. Okay, let's get this heist started!"

* * *

Why were the eyes the hardest part to change back? Michael rubbed his eyes as he looked away from the mirror. He had already taken out of his contacts for the day, so he would need his glasses from now on. And to be completely honest, he would prefer to go back to wearing glasses for the most part anyway. Contacts were too much of a fucking hassle for day to day wear.

Fuck. He wished he knew what it was he was doing wrong about his eyes. Hands and claws, he could feel when it was right. But his eyes… all he could go on was how they looked. And he could stare and stare and stare and not see anything happen as he tried to make them go back to being brown.

Maybe that was the one part that wouldn't go back now? Maybe from now on, he would always have one part of him that was always demonic. And maybe that part was his eyes. His lips curled as he pulled out a can of ravioli, grabbing the can opener. That would be fucking great.

… tomorrow. Fuck it. Tomorrow, he would wear his normal glasses. They had a fucking demon on staff. Might as well be as open as a secret as Gavin's a vampire. Not like anyone was going to tell anyone outside the company, or like it would impact them in any way. Whatever was happening at that company meant that the whole "people considered this weird shit normal way too easily" thing was still going on. No one had commented yet on the fact that Gavin was supposed to be dead, after all. They could probably do a live action bit with him and the fans would just be fawning over the fact he was finally back in the videos.

Yeah. He was going to go back to work tomorrow, head held high without his glasses and fuck anyone who looked at him sideways. If he couldn't turn his eyes back, he was going to fucking _embrace_ it.

Then maybe someone would explain what the fuck was going on.

* * *

So he still wasn't allowed on AHWU. Despite his passionate argument explaining how the fans wouldn't even notice since they haven't noticed they made a video saying Gavin was dead then Extra Life happened.

Michael grumped as he sat down, listening. Gavin sounded like he was being as destructive as ever, and Ryan… was going the opposite way of any AHWU recording, per usual. Hey… Michael got up, an idea hitting him. Ryan would tell him what was going on. His kids were half human. He knew what it would be like, having to explain a human world and inhuman world. Maybe he would be able to explain what the fuck was going on to someone that wasn't human that was raised as such. He opened his mouth to shout after Ryan when he heard something.

It… what was that?

And what was that smell? Was something burning? Michael sniffed at the air as he tried to follow the sound, then stopped as he finally placed it, stopping in front of a blocked off corner.

"Make out on your own time," he called out. It was worse than the time he had caught Miles and Arryn, he swore as he looked in. At least those two had just been making goo-goo eyes at each other, not sucking face like… "Holy shit."

Lindsay wiped at her mouth, a smear of lipstick coming with it. "Oh hey, Michael, didn't hear you coming in." She looked over at Meg, who was wiping around her lips futility. "You're just going to have to wipe it off and reapply already."

"I don't have my purse," Meg groused as she continued to try to fix her lipstick, stopping as she saw Michael, her eyes on his. "Oh."

"Yeah. So." Oh, this was good. "Lindsay, I thought you knew better than to be making out in dark corners with your girlfriend."

"Says the guy who's getting handjobs in public from someone who's not his boyfriend," she shot back. "And… where are your sunglasses?" Lindsay touched one of her arms, almost fingering one scar without thinking.

Well fuck. He didn't expect to see that when he embraced his demon nature full on. "Left them at home. Decided hiding's for losers." Michael looked over at Meg, who was fixing her clothes while looking down at the ground. "AHWU's going on. They kicked me out."

"So you decided to cockblock me," Lindsay told him.

"You don't have a cock."

"I would like to inform you I have several in various colors and sizes, thank you very much."

Michael just stared at Lindsay, then bust out laughing. "Did not need that image."

Lindsay looked far too proud of herself at that as she threw an arm around Meg's thin shoulders. "Well, now you have it. And how about you leave us alone so I can get back to kissing my pretty girlfriend?" Meg turned her face to make exaggerated kissy faces at her, and Michael held up his hands.

"I know when I'm not needed. Just be careful. I think I'm smelling something burning, and someone else might walk in on you two as well." With that, he left them alone to suck face.

And then realized he had no idea where Ryan had gone.

Goddamn it.

* * *

After the fiasco at Extra Life and seeing just what lay in that other dimension, seeing things out of the corner of Michael's eye made him very twitchy. It wasn't just the fact that it could be the little rat demons, but the fact he wasn't even sure he was seeing them anyway. If Ray was seeing them too, then he knew that things were getting fucked again, but Ray still wasn't talking to him. Which sucked.

Which left Michael turning his head randomly, trying to catch a glimpse of what he saw flitting in the corner of his eye.

He had never felt this on edge before. Not only was there that, but there was still the feeling of someone watching him. Someone that really, really didn't like him. Which would make too many people at the office after he stopped wearing his sunglasses, to be honest. But no matter what, it still made his shoulder blades itch as he walked through the Rooster Teeth office.

The last time he felt like this, Ray had been shifting uncontrollably and he felt like he was about to be eaten. Hopefully there wasn't another fucking shapeshifter that was about to chew him up because he doubted he'd be able to pull the 'person that loves you changes you back' trick twice.

He really needed to talk to Ryan. Good thing was he should still be around, taking care of stuff. Maybe if he-

Something told Michael to duck.

Just as he did so, something blue splashed over him, leaving blazing air in its wake. Michael looked up, seeing the black scorch mark where his head would have been slowly disappear. He looked over to where it had come from only to see two more bolts of blue coming for him. Michael dove to one side, behind some props as they splashed against the wall, blue fire creating two more scorch marks that disappeared.

Magic.

It had to be. Someone was lobbing magic fire at him.

Oh God. Someone was trying to kill him with magic.


	6. Chapter 6

Someone was trying to kill him.

That was all Michael could think as another shot of blue fire slammed into the wall near him, forming a scorch mark that quickly faded. It wasn't like before, with the cat demon, when he could _see_ what was trying to kill him. He couldn't see it, couldn't- he didn't even know if who was trying to kill him was _human_ or not. Humans could use magic, right? Fuck, he couldn't remember. He could barely even think right now. Instinct consumed him, made his hands twist into their inhuman shape as fangs pressed into his lips. He wanted to leave his safety, to find who was trying to kill him, to _kill-_

No. No, he shouldn't do that. Michael shook his head, trying to get his mind clear. He needed to calm down. Just-

Another bolt of fire splashed against the wall, making him cringe further into his hiding spot and hiss. He was going to kill this person. Just get up and rip them apart- _no._ That wasn't human thinking. He was mostly human, and he could stop thinking like a cornered animal, damn it! Michael growled, flexing his hands. He'd be okay. And this was the middle of the office. Someone would find this person and stop them, and then he'd be okay.

He just really wanted to fucking kill something right now. Michael ran his tongue over his fangs, feeling the sharp end run across the delicate skin as he tried to calm his thoughts. Tried not to want to kill whoever this was. Tried- just tried. He panted, looking down at the twisted mess his hands were, and tried not to rush out to kill his attacker.

There were voices. People talking. Nowhere near him- but he knew someone was there. And he didn't exactly have enhanced hearing. Maybe that would stop this person from attacking him any further. Slowly, he started to poke his head back out, only to yank it back as a fucking column of fire rushed at him. A growl built in his throat as he backpedaled, knocking over a few props as he went.

He was going to _tear them limb from limb-_

There was another voice. A call, from someone achingly familiar. Then a returning answer, from someone he knew. Michael stood there, frozen uncomfortably as he heard the two voices talk, tones lowered to between them. He listened as they left, waiting for another round of blue fire to start.

But it didn't. Michael slowly made his way out from his hiding spot, peeking around the edge of a prop, moving out further when nothing tried to take his head off. The sound of his claws clicked on the ground as he made his way out, hands caressing the concrete as he went.

And that made him stop. He was acting more demonic. That fucking- someone trying to take his head off with magic made him go demonic. Yeah, he had been talking about embracing that but- fuck. This was such a bad idea. He shouldn't do this. Someone was already trying to kill him, and slipping into his demon side would just make it so more people would want to do the same.

No, he needed to come back. Shift his body away from being demonic and be human, damn it! Michael straightened up, forcing himself to stand on two feet. There, that was human.

God, someone had tried to kill him. Someone had tried to take his head off with magic. Michael started to pace, growling to himself as he did so. There was someone here that saw him as a threat and wanted to kill him. And the scary thing was he couldn't point a finger at anyone and say that was definitely the person since there were just so many of them that were afraid of him. And he didn't really remember well, but wasn't one of the things that anyone could use magic? Hell, if he wanted to learn, he could probably use magic. He knew Gavin did; that shapeshifting trick he did was magic. Didn't Burnie at some point say something about him learning magic, or not wanting to learn magic, or something? Fuck, he couldn't think right now.

He needed to calm down. He needed something to make him stop thinking like a demon and start thinking like a human again.

Gavin and Ray were out. They made it worse. Ray was a little weird in a way in that he made it _better_ before making it worse - soothed the savage beast before he started to get possessive and demonic. But both of them were _his_ and wouldn't make this better. Fuck, he wanted them, though. Wanted to mark them in front of everyone and prove they were his and his alone, that no one else should have what was his…

No. This was as bad as wanting to paint the walls red with the blood of whoever was trying to kill him. No, he just needed to-

He knew what he needed to do. And he didn't want to do it. His life was already hard enough.

But he had to do this. Michael flexed his hands and closed his eyes.

Where would one Ryan Haywood be?

Fuck, he didn't want to leave his area just in case he ran into whoever was trying to kill him again. He didn't know if he would be able to keep himself from ripping that person apart if that happened. But he couldn't stay there, stewing in the demonic juices. He needed to go back to human, damn it!

He had to find Ryan. He had to find him, and do whatever it was that Ryan did to make him human thinking again. If that meant fucking him again in the middle of work… this was becoming depressingly common. But it had to happen. He had to go back to being human. And it wasn't so bad. At least he knew how it would be afterwards and it didn't take that long to get over the oversenstivity. 

There was someone coming closer. Michael growled, his back hunching as their footsteps sounded nearer and nearer. The instinct to attack was starting to take over, and he couldn't stop it. That person could be who had tried to kill him. And that meant he had to attack first. He wanted to attack, wanted to kill-

"There you are, Michael." Ryan. Oh God, it was Ryan. "You should-" He cut off suddenly as Michael leapt at him, startled as they fell to the floor, Michael's lips catching his.

"Fuck me." The words came out on a nearly inhuman growl, testament to how far gone he was as he desperately kissed him over and over.

"What?" Ryan turned his head away so Michael's needy kisses rained down on his cheek and jaw. "Michael, I-"

"I need someone to remind me I'm human." He sounded so _raw_ , so needy. But he knew that would do it. He knew that would make him human again. Something about it would just pull the human right up. "Fuck me, Ryan. Tell me I'm human."

Ryan's hands came up to his shoulders, not quite pushing him away yet as Michael kissed his jaw, rolling his hips into him. "I can't," he finally whispered. One of his hands caught Michael's chin, pushing it up as he spoke, lips barely moving against Michael's. "I can't fuck you, Michael."

" _Please._ "

That made Ryan hesitate. Then, he hooked a leg behind Michael's, rolling them over. "I can't fuck you," he told him intensely as he pinned him down. "But that doesn't make you any less mine." One hand came up, roughly running up against Michael's cheek and through his hair. "That human side of you. It's as much a part of you as the shapeshifter part and it's mine." Michael tried to buck his hips into that, and Ryan didn't budge in the slightest, keeping him pinned. "And you know it too," he told him breathlessly, his lips barely touching Michael's. "Mine, mine, mine-"

"Please, please, please," Michael panted into his mouth with each declaration, trying to move. He wanted more, he-

He wanted to be Ryan's. And he wanted what was his, he wanted Ray. He wanted _Gavin_ most of all, right now, all three of them, to have them all-

"Michael." A pat on his cheek made him open his eyes, looking up at a concerned Ryan. "Talk to me."

Talk to him? About what? Where would he start? Michael tried to move his hips again, groaning when he couldn't move enough for friction. "Ryan…"

"Are you okay?"

Michael let out an annoyed breath, looking up at him. Was he okay? He was fucking horny now, probably from that lust shit Ryan seemed to do, and- and thinking human. He didn't want to kill anyone anymore. Slowly, he nodded, and Ryan pressed his forehead against his shoulder as he sounded a relieved sigh.

"Good." Ryan lifted his head, smiling down at him. "Good." He slowly stood up, holding a hand out to help Michael up. "So, what was that all about?"

Michael took a deep breath. He knew exactly how this would sound and he couldn't fucking say it any other way. "Someone tried to kill me."

"WHAT?!"


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't even know where to start." Ryan pinched his eyes shut, a pained look crossing his face. "That someone tried to kill you, or that you thought the proper response to that was to try to fuck me."

"I was freaking the fuck out," Michael pointed out. "And you're the only one I know of that calms me down instead of riling up whatever stupid instincts I have." The truth of what kind of instincts they were weighed on the tip of his tongue, ready to spring out once he opened his mouth again. But that was just a fucking idiotic idea and he was keeping his goddamn mouth shut. He was not that stupid. Telling Ryan that he was a demon… fuck, he didn't even know if _Ryan_ wasn't the one who was trying to kill him.

Ryan eyed him with a frown. His mouth opened, as if to say something, then he shook his head. "You really need to talk to Gavin," was all he would say about it.

"Been trying and no one would talk to me," he shot back. "All anyone would say is they forget I was raised human."

That made Ryan close his eyes. "Hm." He took a deep breath, then opened them to look at him. "I can explain later, then. Right now, you need to go into more detail about the fact someone tried to kill you."

"Right." Michael ran a hand through his curls, looking away. "Magic. Someone's been stalking me, and used some kind of magic fire to try to blow my head off. And I know it's magic because it's not leaving a scorch mark. And don't you fucking dare say you don't believe me because-"

Ryan held up a hand. "I believe you. I smelled something burning. My first thought wasn't magic, though, just that someone had burnt coffee or something."

Well. About time someone other than Ray believed him right away. "It's magic. I don't know who, but someone tried to kill me."

"Hm." Ryan frowned, thinking. "The next question is who could it be? Other than Gavin, I don't know anyone that has practiced any kind of magic. And it could be anyone here."

"I know," Michael muttered. A thought started to bug him, and he closed his eyes, examining it. Who would _want_ to kill him? Most of the people were afraid of him, but they didn't seem like they wanted to actually want to kill him. Except… "When Lydia died, there were two women that were looking for her. I don't think they were human, and I know the redhead didn't like me."

"Catarina and her friend, I know of them." At Michael disbelieving look, Ryan smiled without humor. "You weren't the only one her friend didn't like. One problem with that, though. While I would believe her friend would try to kill you, she's not here anymore. They left."

Michael blinked. They… left? It wasn't that people never left the company; there were people all the time getting other jobs thanks to the experience they got at Rooster Teeth. Many people tried to stay since it was pretty awesome, but for others, Rooster Teeth was a stepping stone to other places. He just… never thought about it before, the people who left. "Really?"

"You'd be amazed how hard it is to work somewhere when your lover dies there." Well, he didn't exactly expect to hear that. Though, at the same time, considering the reaction, it wasn't too surprising.

"Damn it. She was my best guess." Michael rubbed his neck, closing his eyes. "I really don't know who would be wanting to actually _kill_ me. I mean, it's not like I'm the only nonhuman around here. Fuck, we knew _Gavin_ wasn't human long before we knew I wasn't. And we had weirder things happen around here, like when the computers used to spit blood." Which was probably a side effect of the first demon, now that he thought about it. It went away when Gavin killed it, so whatever the first demon did to lure its prey in, the side effect was a lot of weird shit. "So why now?"

"Maybe it's because of how you reacted when you came back."

Oh right. That made Michael wince a bit. "So it's someone that saw that little display."

"I wouldn't say that," Ryan hastily backpedaled. "Just saying it's a possibility. It could be someone new who's afraid of you."

Michael shook his head. "Maybe. I just…" He rubbed his neck as he thought about it. Who could it be? Who could be playing around with fire magic and wanting to kill him? "Have you seen anything recently?"

"We might have another shapeshifter." Michael stared at him as Ryan shrugged. "I saw something about ye big" at that, he measured out a size about a smallish medium sized dog "running around. Looked like it had a brown coat and a tail. I didn't see it too well. So maybe the person trying to kill you is the new shapeshifter."

"A lot of shapeshifters use magic?" Michael shot back.

"I have no idea. As far as I know, the biggest population that uses magic is humans. Other than that, I have no idea what the breakdown is. Really, the only thing I know is that shapeshifters _can_ use magic and some of them do." Ryan look apologetic at that, making Michael wave his hand.

"I didn't fucking know that, so hey. Your creepy database of knowledge is doing some good right now." Michael sighed, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling, hoping the answer would be found there. Who would want to kill a demon? Who would be using fire magic to be killing a demon?

Fire magic.

Wait. He had been smelling something burning for a while. Not always. Just kind of whiffs of it here and there. But when did he first smell it? "Hey. You said you smelled something burning. Have you smelled it before?"

"Yeah." Ryan tilted his head, considering. "Yeah, I have. Around the office. I always thought it was dust or something- When did you start smelling it?"

Good question. "I don't know. Ever since I got back, I guess? I can't remember where, though." Michael took a deep breath, thinking. Where had he smelled it? When he came back… and then when Lindsay came to talk… and- "Fuck."

"What is it?"

"It can't be Lindsay." He shook his head. "She's trying to make up our friendship. She can't be the one trying to kill me."

"I'm missing something." Ryan shook his head. "Why do you think it's Lindsay?"

"Because when I came back, I smelled something burning around her. And then when she came to talk to me, I smelled it again." He had no idea how under wraps her and Meg was, so he was not going to mention that. "Yeah, it's only twice, but it's often enough for it to be a trend."

"Except for the fact that Lindsay's being nice to you and trying to repair your friendship." Ryan shook his head. "I can see why you're not sure about this one."

And while Lindsay was irreverent sometimes, she wouldn't try to kill him just for cockblocking her, would she? Hell, he left them alone after that. She shouldn't be trying to kill him for that. Maybe for hurting her so much? She was afraid he was going to go full demon again and claw the living shit out of her more? But… when did she ever learn magic? "I don't even know if she knows any magic. I just don't know."

Ryan looked at him, and nodded. "I understand. I don't want to think it's Lindsay either. She's great. But right now, it's the only lead we have. So I would have to say, be careful around her. And try to stay with people. Gavin, Ray… hell, even the humans would work in a pinch. I don't think you'd have to deal with an attempt on your life around anyone. And…" Ryan grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly. "You fucking tell us next time something like this happens, okay? You said someone was stalking you, and if we knew, we could have helped you. So _talk_ to us."

"Like you guys are talking to me?" Michael shot back, bitter. Then he sighed as Ryan slowly let him go. "Look, we'll talk about the whole thing later. I just… want to live right now."

"It's me." Michael blinked, looking at Ryan. "What I do to bring you back to human. It's telling Gavin you're off the market and you're mine. That's why I can't have sex with you anymore. You're not mine, not in that sense. I don't-" Ryan broke that thought off, shaking his head. "You need to talk to Gavin. Learn to control yourself, or use him to do it. Because I won't do it anymore. I won't… fuck up your relationship with Gavin anymore than I already have."

"Then why won't Ray tell me any of that?" Michael demanded. "Why is he being so cagey too? He knew this shit, right? I know he talked to you after you calmed me down the first time. I heard him before I passed out say he needed to talk to you."

Ryan sighed. "Because you're doing the same thing to him, and Tina has a prior claim. I don't know what you are, but that's not shapeshifter behavior. And I have a feeling you know that. I won't force you to talk to me about it, but remember what keeping things from us has done for you."

Michael shifted, uncomfortable. He wasn't wrong. Keeping things from them had just meant they came out at the worst time. "I can't… tell you right now. Once this is all over, I'll let you know. Right now, I just want to keep my head on my shoulders and not burned to a crisp."

"Fair enough." Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Geoff is probably wondering where the fuck we are by now."

And considering everything that had happened, probably wondering if they were fucking. "We should get back, then."

"Yeah." Ryan looked at him, steady. "You won't keep anything from us after this, right? You'll talk to us?"

Michael nodded. "You'll talk to me too?"

"Yeah. You were raised human. Someone needs to tell you what the fuck's going on with the nonhumans."

That made Michael sag slightly with relief. "Good. Then let's get back. I want to blow something up."


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so he might have put the pop filter to the test on this one.

The recording came to an end as Michael tossed his headphones down, standing up to pace. Fucking Rage Quit. Sure, he had some fun yelling at shitty games, but even before the whole demon thing he had to deal with the fact it raised his blood pressure. And now he was flexing his hands, wincing as he felt the bones crack back into place. But this was good. Doing normal things was good. Kept his mind of things like, oh, there was someone out there trying to kill him.

Christ. Wait, was he even allowed to think that? How the hell had he been able to be a God fearing youth if he came from a family of demons? Michael ran his hands through his curls, blowing out a hard breath. Fuck, he didn't know. Maybe religion wasn't caught up in the whole mess at all. Gavin didn't seem to be warded off by Jeremy's cross. So maybe nonhuman stuff was separate from religion. Who knows.

Who the hell was trying to kill him? And why? Was it because he was a demon? Shitty reason, if that was the case. Not like there weren't other nonhumans in the office. And it was hard to tell what he actually was. Burnie thought he was human for the longest time, after all. So if it was that, who could tell that he was a fucking demon? Fuck, he was human enough that he fooled _himself_ into thinking he was human.

He didn't really have a lot of time to think about this. He only got so much time alone to record a Rage Quit so he wouldn't interrupt people. Soon, the other Achievement Hunters would filter back in. Though, Ryan might have to go with Meg for The Patch. It was Wednesday, after all. So that would leave him without the one person who knew that someone was trying to kill him. Yeah, he should probably tell everyone else, but what if it was someone at Achievement Hunter, finally having enough? He was pretty certain it wasn't Gavin; while they were having a rough period, they weren't at the level of wanting to kill the other. And while Ray was having his angst about him and Tina, it didn't mean it ended with him thinking the best thing to do was to learn magic and blow Michael's head off, did it? Ray loved him, after all.

… fuck, maybe it had something to do with that. Maybe someone knew about all the alpha bullshit claiming going on and wanted to kill the one in the center of it all. But then, why not Tina? Ryan said she had a prior claim to Ray. That was claiming bullshit too.

Though, he had a feeling what he said about Tina was not the same as what he said about Michael claiming and being claimed.

Now he really wished he had sat Ryan down and gotten a full primer in what the fuck was going on. He had this really bad feeling Ryan knew something, or at least suspected what Michael was, and it had to do with what was going on. But like an idiot, he just let him go, content to go on with his life after all of that. Like a goddamn moron. Him not knowing what was going on was his fault this time.

Well, since Ryan figured out how shitty it would be to have to grow up not knowing anything about this kind of shit, he should probably go hunt him down and grill him. That would probably work out for the best. He really wanted to know what the fuck the claiming thing was all about. Was it something humans could even do?

As Michael reached for the door, the knob turned, opening to reveal Ray. "Oh. Hey, man."

"Hey." Ray didn't quite look at him as he entered, going to his computer. "So. Uh. You done recording?"

Fuck, why wouldn't he talk to him? Okay, so he was one to talk because he wasn't telling Ray about the person trying to kill him, but- maybe if he would fucking talk to _him_ -! "Yeah! Yeah, I… just wanted to go find Ryan. Talk a bit about things."

Ray shrugged. "Don't know where he is. Probably on set with Meg. Hey," he called out as Michael left. "Gavin said he wanted to talk to you."

Gavin…? Michael nodded, smiling a little. "Did he say where he'd be?"

"Fuck if I know."

Yeah, of course. "Great help, Narvaez."

Ray held up both hands, eyes wide. "Hey, he ran off after he mentioned he wanted to talk to you. Maybe he's also on the Patch set. He seemed pretty into Meg. You might have some competition."

Visions of Lindsay sticking her tongue down Meg's throat danced in his head as he snorted. He wanted to stop by the Patch set anyway. "I'll go check, thanks."

"Hey." Michael half turned at Ray's quiet voice. "I know… I've been not talking to you. It's been really weird for me and Tina lately. We need to work through that first, and then I'll let you know what happened. I just… don't want to get you in the middle of it."

Michael almost laughed at that. After what Ryan said, he had a pretty good idea what was going on. "Yeah. I get it."

"It's not that I want to keep stuff from you," Ray added. "Totally don't want that. Tina and I just need to figure this out first."

"No, really, I get it. Take your time." Michael smiled at him, wanting to tell him that he knew, but having a feeling that it would make things worse if he did. "I'm going to go hunt down Gavin."

Ray just waved as he left, turning to his computer.

Well. Gavin wanting to talk to him was a good thing. Michael nodded to Jack as they passed each other, the other man saluting him with his drink. Maybe he was finally going to fucking talk to him. That would be nice. Or just… fuck. He missed Gavin. Before he did his ill-advised drunk make-out test to see if he was a vampire, they had just… hung out. And he missed that. Maybe he could convince Gavin to do that again. Him and Lindsay come over for a game night. Lindsay could bring her girlfriend. That is, if Lindsay wasn't the one trying to kill him with fire magic, which he couldn't imagine why she would be.

Except… his footsteps slowed as the thought occurred to him. Lindsay knew how much of a threat he was. She bore the scars, and she had been the first to see him fully demonic. He was pretty certain he had scratched her during that. So she had a really big motive. But why be friends and then try to kill him? Why? It made no fucking sense!

And they were shutting down the Patch set. Meg was starting to step off the set when she looked up, and hesitated. "Oh, Michael! What's up?"

And then there was Meg. Who had been wary of him from the beginning. But then, what would have pushed her from being just 'wary' to 'kill the demon'? And did she even know any magic? "Hey. You seen Gavin anywhere? Ray said he was looking for me."

Meg pursed her lips as she thought. "Nope. I haven't seen him at all today."

"Great," he groaned. "Time to hunt down the vampire again."

"When you say 'vampire,'" Meg started, her brow furrowing, "do you mean like ancient bloodsucker or did he get changed, like, in the last forty years?"

Michael blinked at the question. How did he answer this? Did Gavin want people to know he was about three hundred? "Well, you'd probably have to ask him his real age," he finally told her cautiously, "but I'm certain he's older than forty."

"I see." Meg bit her lower lip as she thought over the words. "Pretty old for someone like you, then," she finally joked.

"Ha ha."

Hm?

"What's up?" Meg frowned as Michael suddenly shot his gaze to one side. She followed his line of sight, her brow furrowing when her gaze settled, then looked back at him. "What did you see?"

Oh fuck. He couldn't see it straight on, but fuck. He probably could out of the corner of his eye. "Nothing," he told her lightly. "Well, if you see Gav, let him know I'm looking for him too."

"Okay." Meg sounded a bit distracted too. "I've got to go do something. So…" She smiled at him as she started to back away, thumbs pointing over her back.

Michael laughed. "I've got to talk to one of your cohosts anyway." He waved as she left, turning to find Ryan. Who wasn't there and had probably gone back to Achievement Hunter. Of course he would, since Michael was too busy chatting it up with a beautiful woman about Gavin. Michael sighed, his head twitching a bit as something moved out of the corner of his eye.

God fucking damn it, they were back.

And fucking hell, there was more than one of the demonic rat fuckers.


	9. Chapter 9

Welp, Ray was out today.

Not surprising. Michael kept catching glimpses of _things_ out of the corner of his eyes. And every time he had a chance to reach for it, he was rewarded with a bite and the demon running away.

So yeah, things weren't good and Ray being out instead of being there and shifting uncontrollably because he kept seeing the things and knew they were bad was a better idea. Michael rubbed his hand, looking down at the bite marks embedded in the skin. Damn things hadn't broken the skin. He didn't know what it would be like bleeding around Gavin right now, but he had a feeling he didn't want to.

"Hey." Ryan's voice startled him, making him turn around and look at him. "You know where Geoff is?"

Michael blinked, looking around. Geoff, Jack, and Gavin had all fucked off somewhere. "No, I don't. What's up?"

"I've got to go pick my kids up from daycare." Ryan hesitated, his face creasing into a frown. "Michael, is something wrong?"

Oh boy, was that a loaded question. Was something wrong. _Everything_ was wrong. Michael ran his hands over his face, sighing. "I kinda would like to talk to you more about what you told me, and…" Nope, nothing out of the corner of his eye yet, but that didn't mean anything. "Ryan, tell me if you feel weird or you notice anyone else acting weird, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Ryan looked more confused at that than before.

Did he tell him and possibly alarm the living shit out of him, or did he piss him off by keeping it from him but know it's going to keep him from going insane?

Shit, was this how they felt about telling him shit? Did they tell him and alarm him, or did they keep it and try to work it out themselves so they didn't work him up? Fuck, that was not something he expected to have to feel.

Michael weighed all his options in his head as Ryan's face creased into further concern. Fuck. He really didn't know what to do. Everything told him that he was tired of things being kept from him, and if he was in Ryan's position he would rather be told that something was there and possibly coming after him. But if he told Ryan there wasn't much he could do other than keep a lookout. Ray could see the things out of the corner of his eye as well, but only Michael has been the one to kill one of them before. Fucking hell.

Finally, Michael nodded. "The rat thing was just one of many," he told him. "There are more of them. Lots. Just… keep an eye out. See if anyone look possessed."

_That_ made Ryan sit up straighter, alarmed. "More of them? Shit. Michael, what are you going to do? You can't see the things straight on."

He shrugged a little. "I can still see them. And I've killed one of them before."

"There's more than one this time." Ryan looked anxious, drumming his fingers on his knees. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "Look, come with me to pick up the kids. I don't-"

"Shut the fuck up." Michael's heated voice cut across Ryan's words, stopping them. "Stop trying to baby me. Stop trying to fucking babysit me!" Wow, he could literally feel his teeth change to fangs. He hadn't felt that before. "Do you think I can't take care of myself? I'm not human, Ryan! Even when you guys were babysitting me, thinking that thing in the pantry was still alive and trying to eat me, I wasn't human! I could still take care of myself. I can kill a few more fucking rat demons!"

"There's also someone trying to kill you." Ryan's words came out low, between them. "We don't know who it is. And I remember that I tried to kill you when I was possessed. That potentially means there would be several people wanting to see you dead, and we don't know how many of them are doing so still in their right mind. At least if you stay with me, you stay alive. I can watch your back."

Michael stared at him for a moment, then grit his teeth. "I get it," he growled. "But I don't need you to coddle me. I'll be fine. Go get your kids and come back. I can stay alive for like an hour."

Ryan stared at him for a moment, his mouth half open. Then, it shut as Ryan sighed. "Fine. You better not be dead when I get back. Tell Geoff I had to leave."

"Yeah, yeah," Michael muttered as Ryan got up. He would be fine. He didn't need Ryan around.

Everything would be fine. He just needed to shift back to human and get back to work.

* * *

Ryan still wasn't back.

It wasn't that it really worried him. Man had a life outside of work. Wife, kids, all of that. Not even what he said before he left worried him. Not at all. They just had to record a new Let's Watch with him.

Nope, just probably for the best because he was just seeing things out of the corner of his eyes again. And not able to catch them yet.

Great.

Michael stood up with a sigh, leaving the office. He needed more Red Bull. No use getting all worked up about things he couldn't change. Just get something to drink and calm the fuck down. Red Bull may be a stimulant, but it was comforting. Nice. Familiar.

And there was the scent of something burning again.

Michael turned around, hands flexing as they started to shift to demonic. Something burning. Was someone about to try to kill him again? He whipped around in the other direction, his breath coming fast. Nothing he could see, but that didn't mean anything. He didn't see his attacker the first time. Fuck, where was it? Shit…

His feet shuffled across the floor as he moved, then kicked something. Something… soft, but heavy. Michael looked down to see what it was and saw… nothing.

What?

Cautiously, he kicked out again a few times, and managed to hit it. Whatever it was, he couldn't see it. Then, he took a deep breath as he turned his head slightly, looking out of the corner of his eye.

Dead. The rat fucker was dead. And crispy. That corpse was so very burned to shit and back.

Michael took a stumbling step back. Someone had burned it to death. Shit… every time he had smelled something burning, was that was he was smelling? One of those fuckers getting burned to death? Then, that would mean-

Fuck. Someone figured out he was a demon then. And wanted to kill him because of that. Michael turned around, intent on making his way back to the office, then stopped when he saw who was blocking his way.

Lindsay raised her water to her lips. "Hey," she said after swallowing her mouthful. "You okay?"

Lindsay. Who he had smelled something burning when he saw her.

Lindsay. Who had reason to not trust demons since he had hurt her.

Lindsay was trying to kill him.

"Whoa." Water splashed over her hand as Lindsay took an alarmed step back when Michael growled at her. "Michael, whoa. What's wrong?" 

She was trying to kill him. He wasn't going to let that happen.

He was going to kill her first.

The worried thought that this was a far too demonic way of thinking poked at him as he rushed her. Her body hit the floor, water bottle flying as Michael raised one hand, aiming claws for her face. Lindsay threw her arm up so they just raked across her forearm, her blood spattering everywhere.

And then she headbutted him, making him stumble back off of her.

When he finally regained his balance, Lindsay had gotten to her feet. Her uninjured hand was clenched by her side, wreathed in red gold fire. He fucking knew it. She knew fire magic. She was trying to kill him. Michael snarled at her, and she took a half step back, raising the hand. A wall of fire burst up between them, making Michael take several steps back to keep from being burnt.

The wall faded away, leaving no scorch marks ( _magic_ he knew it). "I don't want to hurt you," Lindsay told him, her voice steady. "What's wrong, Michael? What happened?"

Didn't she know? She was trying to kill him with that fire!

Michael took a step towards her, ready to pounce when her hand blazed brighter with fire.

And then a plume of bright blue fire slammed between them, forcing both Michael and Lindsay to stumble back. "Get away from her, you fucking demon," came an inhuman growl, making Michael whip his head towards the source of the fire and words.

Meg stood there, blue fire sizzling on her fingertips as she held her arm up, fingertips pointed at them. Her other hand cupped the forearm, steadying her aim. And her eyes…

Her eyes glowed a brilliant beautiful green.

"Hey, whoa!" Lindsay's voice interrupted the silence as she strode forward. "I don't know what you're thinking, but he's nothing like the demon imp things we've been killing. He's just a mostly human shapeshifter! And yeah, I get that sounds weird, but he just learned how to shapeshift and he's still working things out. He's not a demon."

"Look at his eyes, Linds." Meg didn't look away from Michael. "Those are demon eyes. He's a demon."

"I love you and all, Meg," Lindsay told her, her voice heating up with anger, "but I'm not going to let you hurt a friend that is still working out who he is. So stop it!"

Meg's eyes shifted over to Lindsay for a moment, then back to Michael. Then, they narrowed, and her fingers glowed blue. Before Michael could open his mouth, a ball of fire formed at her fingertips and shot off right at him.

And landed next to him, causing a horrible squeal of pain to sound in his ear. Michael stumbled back as he saw something drop to the ground, burning. And if he looked out of the corner of his eye… shit. He looked back up at Meg, blinking.

Meg slowly lowered her arm, flicking the flames off her fingers. "So, mind explaining why an imp just tried to attack you, Michael?"


	10. Chapter 10

Somehow, the beer in his hands didn't seem that appealing.

Meg's eyes had stopped glowing once she, Lindsay, and himself had made the decision to go back to Michael's for the talk. He really wanted to know how the hell she managed that. Hell, he wanted to know how she did the whole magic thing. What the hell? What was going on? He looked over at her as she took another pull of beer, looking contemplatively down at the bottle as she swallowed.

"I guess we should start by introducing ourselves," Michael said, his voice rich with sarcasm. "Hi, I'm Michael Jones, and somewhere in my family line there's a demon. Lindsay, you want to go next?"

She winced at that. "Dude, how long have you known? That you're not a shapeshifter?"

"That's not an introduction."

"Hey. I'm not anything weird. I'm just Lindsay. I just learned magic because I was tired of being fucked up by nonhumans. I'm just a human; I got to have some kind of weapon." She glared at him. "Now why don't you fucking explain about the whole demon thing? What the hell do you mean about 'demon'?"

"He means somewhere back in his family line, someone tried to learn magic and summon a demon for whatever dumb reason that humans have." Meg sighed, leaning forward a bit. "And whoever it was was raped and gave birth to a half demon baby. Probably way back in your family line, because other than those eyes, I pretty must mistook you for human until you tried to rip my girlfriend's face off."

Michael winced, resisting the urge to hunch his shoulders. "Well, if you hadn't tried to kill me, I wouldn't have thought the same about her when I realized she knew fire magic," he shot back at her.

"Tried to kill you?" Meg's eyebrows ran for her hairline. "Michael, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead."

Well. "So what was that whole thing about trying to take my head off earlier?"

"You did what?" Lindsay turned to Meg, disbelief filling her voice.

"In case you haven't noticed, imps have been infesting the office. I thought one was about to possess you." Meg took another drink of beer, looking harried. "You're welcome, by the way."

Michael squirmed a bit, the words hitting him a little. "Thanks," he mumbled. "And you haven't introduced yourself yet. What the fuck are you, Meg? Are you another demon?"

"Hell no!" Meg sighed, sitting back. "I've never had to explain this," she told them. "Everyone I've ever known has usually died before it's become an issue. Gavin's really the only that hasn't, and the only reason he hasn't I bet is because he's a vampire."

"So you do know Gavin!"

"Yeah, he was my boyfriend… forty years ago? Somewhere around there." Meg frowned, trying to think. "I had to disappear because I wasn't aging and I knew he'd ask weird questions. If I knew he was a vampire, I would have stuck around and told him, but hey." She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I'm a spirit. Fox spirit."

Michael blinked, lids shutting for a long period of time while he tried to process this. "And you get on the fact Gavin's older than me," he finally joked.

Lindsay just snorted at that.

Meg looked over at her, surprised. "You're not… weirded out or anything? Your girlfriend isn't human."

"We used to have possessed electronics and something eating the interns. You being an immortal spirit is the least weird thing that's happened here."

"About that…" Meg frowned. "Did you guys know you had a portal to basically Hell in your pantry? And why haven't you done anything about it?"

"Mostly because I think only I know about that because going int here that's how I found out I'm a demon, and we have no idea how," Michael told her.

"Dude, really, you'll have to explain that in detail."

"There's really not much." Michael shrugged. "I mean, I passed through dimensions, fought a cat demon that looked a lot like me but fully demonic, came back. That's about it."

"You're going to have to do something about that portal," Meg warned them. "I think you noticed it's two way. And it's messing with minds pretty hardcore. Sooner or later, something's going to come out of it. And I would probably bet it's going to be that cat demon, ready for an All You Can Eat Buffet called Rooster Teeth."

"So what, we go to Hell and wipe out anything there?" Lindsay asked, taking a sip of beer.

"That's just a short term solution, though probably a good one until we can figure out how to actually close the thing."

"Uh." Michael raised his hand. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't think any of use really know how to kill a demon. Killing me doesn't count."

"I do." As they stared at Meg in disbelief, she looked steadily back at them. "All I need is to get there. Do you remember how you did that, Michael?"

How he got there? He shook his head, frowning. "I just got really pissed. I don't know if that's going to do it, though. I get pissed off a lot."

Meg sighed, taking a long drink of beer. "Well, we'll figure it out," she told them. Sighing, she put her bottle down and stretched. "Until then, just kill as many imps as you can. If they possess someone, things get really bad."

"Yeah, I think we know that," Michael muttered. At Meg's questioning look, he waved one hand. "One decided to wreck havoc during Extra Life."

"The time when Ryan was acting weird." Realization crossed Lindsay's face at the words. "You said he was possessed. It was an imp."

"Yeah." Michael looked over at Meg as she frowned, thinking that over. "I can get a few of the other nonhumans to keep a lookout too. We can all kill them together while we work things out."

Meg nodded. "Yeah. Sounds good to me." She looked over at Lindsay as the other woman finished her beer. "You ready to go?"

"Sure." She looked back over at Michael. One hand came out suddenly, slapping his arm. "Tell us next time something like this happens," Lindsay scolded him. "Asshole." She sighed, standing up and flashed him a weary smile. "See you later."

"See you," he echoed as they left. It wasn't until he heard the car leaving the parking lot that he finally got up to lock the door behind them.

Damn it. So that's the fuck that was going on. Michael put his beer down and ran his hands through his hair. With a deep breath, he sat back down heavily, looking up at the ceiling. Fuck… what was he going to do? Meg wasn't wrong. They needed to take care of it. And he and Gavin were the only two that had managed to get there and back. Gavin had been almost dead, though… So that pretty much laid on Michael's feet. How could he figure out how to get there and clean house? Not just that, but take people with him? What all did his anger do?

Michael jumped a little as his phone started buzzing. A quick look at the screen before he answered it, and he tried to put his usual tone into his voice as he spoke. "Sup, Ray?"

"Nothing much. Hey, are you free?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

Ray fell silent, and Michael was about to prompt him, wondering if the connection had been dropped when he finally spoke up again. "Just need to talk to you. You mind if Tina drops me off?"

"Nah, come on…" Michael trailed off. He hadn't told Ray yet. Or Ryan. He… he really should. He had kept it from them long enough. "Actually, do you mind if Ryan's here too? I need to tell the both of you something."

"Something up?" Ray's voice instantly took on a concerned tone.

"Yeah. I just… finally need to tell you what's going on."

* * *

He should probably go first. Michael looked down at his warm beer, thinking he should have probably thrown it away before Ray and Ryan came over. He had barely touched it anyway. But he should say something, break this silence. When he looked up, he saw Ryan take a sip of his Diet Coke (how the hell did those things materialize around him?) and Ray lean forwards a little. No one really wanted to talk, apparently. He needed to go first. Micheal put his beer down, taking a deep breath.

"Tina thinks I should have sex with you."

And immediately coughed on that breath. Ryan's head swiveled to stare at Ray, his eyes wide. "Where'd that come from?" he asked as Michael tried to recover.

"She knows I love him." Ray wasn't really talking to anyone, just staring at his hands. "She thinks it'll be stabilizing for me. Have someone else around that I have that kind of relationship with."

"It could fuck things up more," Ryan told him gently. "Sex isn't a cure-all."

"I gotta try," Ray told him acerbically.

"You should rethink that after you hear what I have to say," Michael finally said. "I don't think you'll want to after you know what I am."

"You're a shapeshifter, right?" Ray frowned. "Though, you really don't act like one… I just figured that was because you're really human."

"You're not a shapeshifter," Ryan said, his voice soft. "You've known this for a while."

Michael nodded. "Gavin knows it too. You want to know why he's been weird around me since I came back? It's because he knows… I'm a demon."

Ray blinked hard, sitting back as Ryan just… nodded, looking almost unsurprised. "Demon? What the hell do you mean?" Ray demanded, looking confused. "Demons don't live here, right?"

Michael ran a hand through his curls, letting out a harsh breath. "Look, best I can say is someone in my family fucked a demon way back. I don't know exactly what happened." What Meg had said… he didn't know if that was what happened, but it would make sense. "But yeah. I'm not a shapeshifter. You still want to fuck me, Ray? You think you can do the do with a fucking demon?"

"I-" Ray swallowed. "Michael…"

Damn, if that didn't hurt. "Yeah. I thought so."

"Michael." Ryan reached out, taking one hand. He started a little, looking down at this. "Not everyone can react to suddenly knowing demons really exist easily."

"I still love you," Ray added on top of that. "It's just a shock. I mean… I've cuddled with you to calm the fuck down before. And you've never really tried to rip me apart. So I guess I can trust you."

It meant a lot to hear him say he could trust him, but… he knew it couldn't last that he wanted to fuck him. And a part of him just said that couldn't… he just couldn't have that. Ray was one of his… And fuck that demonic way of thinking. Ray wasn't anyone's. Yeah, he had apparently claimed him, but- fuck. He was mostly human. He could not do this shit.

"Hey." Michael looked up at Ryan's voice. "You're growling."

Michael shook his head, not wanting to opening his mouth. He couldn't explain it without sounding like a head case. Or way too demonic for his own good. No, he just needed to leave it alone and let Ray go home.

And not have Ray slide over to him and take his other hand. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere just because you're a demon. I still love you, you dumb ass."

Michael looked down at the two hands, one that was _his_ and one he belonged to, and let out a long shaking breath. "I keep having these demonic urges," he admitted, not yet dislodging their hands. "I just… _want._ I want you, Ray, and Gavin, and… you two keep being _mine._ My brain keeps thinking you're _mine._ "

Ryan's hand tightened on his and Ray's face twisted in confusion. "But…" he started. "Wait. You mean… like…" Ray looked down at their hands, brow furrowed at that sudden knowledge. "Michael."

He just looked at Ray. When the silence went on long enough, he went to open his mouth, only for Ray to surge forward, covering his lips with his own. Michael instantly freed his hand from Ray's grasp, tangling it in his hair as he kissed him. Distantly, he noted Ryan letting go of his other hand, leaving him free to tip Ray backwards onto the floor. The meeting of lips wrenched all control from him, leaving him growling against Ray as his hips ground down, dragging gasps from the other man's throat. Ray was _his_. Right now, that was all he needed. He felt Ray pulling up his shirt, fingers eager to touch skin. Michael leaned back enough to pull his shirt off, then stopped as he felt lips against his shoulder, Ryan's hands reaching around to stroke his stomach. The sudden rush of _his_ made him lean bonelessly against Ryan, Ray sitting up under him to kiss his chest. Michael turned his head slightly, guided by Ryan so their lips met.

Ray's hands eagerly went to Michael's pants, hands fumbling at the button before it finally popped open. The zipper being pulled down was the perfect sound to the backdrop of his growling, wrenching a sigh through the noise as Ray wedged a hand in. Ryan pulled back enough that the kiss was broken, his shirt coming between them as it was pulled off and tossed aside. When Michael was pulled back again, Ryan's hands came down to start working Ray's pants off. When Michael lifted himself off slightly to kick his pants and underwear off, Ray shoved his own down to his knees and wrapped one arm around Michael's neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

The sound of Ryan's pants coming off was barely audible, but the clack of the lube caught his attention. Michael broke the kiss to look over his shoulder to see Ryan put his bottle of lube aside, condom already on. That must have been what he went for when he let go, came the only human thought he had for the last few minutes. It was drowned out when Ray pulled him back down, their lips meeting again as Ryan pressed a finger into him.

 _His, mine, his **mine**_ , the words swirled around his head as Ryan's fingers moved slowly in and out of him, Michael's own hand wedging between them to grasp Ray's cock. Ray gasped into his mouth as Michael's hand stroked him, the two of them breathing brokenly into each other's mouths as Ryan pulled his fingers out. The stretch of him pushing in made Michael wince and growl, the distraction of Ray reaching between them to tug at his cock just barely making it bearable.

And then it was. He was Ryan's. And Ray was _his._ Just like Gavin was his. They all belonged here. Michael claimed Ray's lips again, kissing him deeply as Ryan bottomed out, then slowly started to move. The feeling of his cock thrusting in and out of him made Michael groan into Ray's lips, hand still working against Ray. Then Michael gasped at Ryan shifted, the next thrust hitting just right. Each one after that was just perfect, and he could feel the tension building-

He could feel Ray go rigid against him, then shout slightly as he came, coating Michael's hand-

He could feel Ryan's hand stroke down Michael's side, encouraging him to-

Michael groaned as he came, the feeling rushing through him harder than ever before. Distantly, he felt Ryan slam into him one last time, and the twitching that meant that he had come too, but that didn't mean anything as that familiar post-sex with an incubus exhaustion crept up on him.

But it was fine, he thought as he rested against Ray's shoulder, his eyes closing. They weren't pushing him away. They had accepted he was a demon, had accepted the demonic thoughts and instincts.

His mind shot to Gavin for a moment. He would do the same, in time. He knew it.

Then he fell asleep, Ray's arms coming to hold him as he tumbled into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh goodness, thank you all! I know this one took some time. Last minute rewrites were not fun. But thank you all for sticking with me! Thank you, everyone. If you read this, left a kudo, left a comment, any of it, thank you! I love you all so much. All of my readers, no matter what, I love you.
> 
> There will be another side story coming up from Ryan's POV, and then one last installment. Yup! This is almost over! Again, thank everyone so much. So much love.


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